Pesticide maker fined for label violations

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A routine inspection found a pesticide manufacturer in violation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, resulting in a penalty of $9,960.

The EPA announced last week that WaterTech of Twin Falls has agreed to the penalty for mislabeling violations that occurred on three occasions from 2003 to 2004.

The company had already taken steps to correct the labels before the EPA contacted it, said Al Nickels, president of WaterTech.

The mislabeling occurred on a pesticide product used to control bacteria, fungi and algae in industrial and commercial recirculating cooling-water systems, air-washer systems and paper manufacturing.

The labeling lacked complete precautionary and first aid statements and contained incorrect directions for use under the EPA guidelines.

Lyn Frandsen of the EPA’s Seattle office said people could have gotten sick by missing precautionary information, but no illnesses were reported.

The agency has described the company’s reaction as “very good, very cooperative.”

“I’m assuming they’ll be more careful when they print their labels,” Frandsen said.

The agency could have fined WaterTech up to $5,500 for each of the three violations for a total of $16,500, but it usually reduces fines by 20 percent if a company works with the agency to correct the problem, EPA inspector Chris Gebhardt said.

WaterTech has had no prior penalties with the agency.

WaterTech purchased the product from a company in England and repackages it under its own label.

Nickels said both the company in England and WaterTech recently had changes in personnel when the labeling incident occurred.